Toronto FC striker Sebastian Giovinco has already staked his claim to one of the best seasons in MLS history, becoming the first player to score 20 goals and assist on 15 others in a season.
After adding a goal and an assist on Saturday, the Atomic Ant is trying to put himself among the greats with a season for the ages.
With four games left in the season, Giovinco is within legitimate striking distance of hitting 20 goals and 20 assists on the season.
According to Opta, that would make him just the second player to reach that illustrious mark in a club season among the big five leagues (EPL, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1).
Of course there are some caveats to this. Opta has tracked every season of the Premier League since its inception in 1992-93, but they have tracked the other four leagues only since 2006-07.
Another piece of information to note is the fact that none of these leagues officially recognize second assists while MLS does.
Opta defines a second assist as "a pass/cross that is instrumental in creating a goal-scoring opportunity, for example a corner or free kick to a player who then assists an attempt, a chance-creating through ball or cross into a dangerous position."
Giovinco has benefitted from this rule as three of his 15 assists are second assists.
So while Lionel Messi officially had only 18 assists in La Liga last season, he actually had 21 including second assists.
Having said all that, the only other player to reach the 20-goal, 20-assist mountain is former New York Red Bull great Thierry Henry. The French legend reached the mark back in 2002-03 with Arsenal when he scored 24 goals and assisted on 20 others.
Below are a few others that came close (officially) to matching this amazing feat.
| Players to reach or almost reach 20-goal, 20-assist seasons | ||||
| Player | Team | Season | Goals | Assists |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 2014-15 | 43 | 18 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 2014-15 | 48 | 16 |
| Eden Hazard | Lille | 2011-12 | 20 | 16 |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 2011-12 | 50 | 16 |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 2010-11 | 31 | 18 |
| Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 2002-03 | 24 | 20 |
| Matthew Le Tissier | Southampton | 1994-95 | 19 | 15 |
| Eric Cantona | 2 teams | 1992-93 | 15 | 16 |
* = hit 20 assists including 2nd assists
Giovinco has four more games to get the five assists he needs, three of which come at home.
In 14 games at BMO Field, the Italian has collected nine assists. He will need to pick up the pace if he wants to join the great Titi.
